Fitbit charge HR or Surge??

twistedwoman
twistedwoman Posts: 47 Member
edited November 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Can anyone help me decide??? I have a Fitbit charge but fancy tracking my heart rate in the gym??? Any ideas??

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Polar HRM

    HRMs are only for steady state cardio...nothing else

    The wrist band watches that track HRM 24 /7 are IMO pointless unless you have some form of heart condition you need that info for
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Nothing that gives you charts is pointless.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Nothing that gives you charts is pointless.

    Nerd :)
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Nothing that gives you charts is pointless.

    Nerd :)
    e99k1jqzhpfd.png


    Guilty.

  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
    the HRM part of either the Charge HR or Surge isnt accurate. As stated above, get a Polar HRM. They will be accurate. For example i have a Charge HR. I was on a mountain bike ride this morning and had my heart rate in the 130s range. When i checked the HR on the Charge HR it said my heart rate was 70. Thats not going to be useful if it is so wildly far off...
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Nothing that gives you charts is pointless.

    Nerd :)
    e99k1jqzhpfd.png


    Guilty.

    GIGO
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    :'(
  • Bex_hostie
    Bex_hostie Posts: 52 Member
    I loved my charge HR. Just got a surge and not getting on with it so well. So much I'm refunding it and going to buy a new charge HR x
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    I love my Charge HR and it's completely accurate for me. I've had it since July and it's been an integral part of my fitness journey. The only thing I dislike is having to charge it every 3 or 4 days.
  • miss_vicky_5
    miss_vicky_5 Posts: 11 Member
    Take a look at the Garmin Forerunner 225. I've had it for a couple months now and am pretty happy.
    I used to have a Fitbit Flex, but was having major problems charging it. Plus, I really wanted something that combined those functionalities with a HRM. The 225 is one of the first watches that deliver a reliable heart rate without a chest band (at least for me - I compared it to my old HRM, and it was spot-on). It also has GPS and gives you a ton of stats if you're a runner. The only thing it doesn't do so well is the activity tracker part. I think this is Garmin's first attempt at this, and it shows. The dashboard isn't as good as Fitbit's, and it doesn't update as regularly (the syncing seems pretty random; I can go several days without it doing anything). The watch itself is a bit clunky, but will tell you at any given time what your heart rate is, how many steps you've walked, how many calories you've burned that day, so as far as I'm concerned, the dashboard isn't as important in any case.
    Whichever device you pick, have fun with it!
  • Jessyd76
    Jessyd76 Posts: 539 Member
    I upgraded from a flex to a charge hr about 3-4 weeks ago. I'm loving it.

    I used to have a polar hrm - loved that as well. But can't find anyone certified to replace the battery so it will still be water proof - it's super old. So I went with the charge hr rather than buying a new polar hrm.

    I find it to be fairly accurate and gives me the level of info I'm looking for right now. Also love not having to wear a chest strap.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Yeah, the battery life on the HR is a whip. I fully charged it Wednesday morning and it was dead by Friday evening, with auto-sync off.
  • nicholajaneryan
    nicholajaneryan Posts: 76 Member
    How about the Fitbit charge HR? Not as expensive as the surge, still measures Heart rate and stairs like the surge. Quite a bit cheaper. I had a surge for a while when I worked for Fitbit and it was great but quite big in my wrist so uncomfortable to sleep in to track sleep which is a great feature.
  • cdcllcga01
    cdcllcga01 Posts: 71 Member
    I have a surge and my wife has a Charge HR. She bought hers first and selected the Charge HR because of the smaller size. She's had great success with it, which is why I decided to get a FitBit as well. I selected the Surge mainly because of the ability to differentiate tracking exercise type. Charge basically gives you the ability to track generic exercise. I don't think that's a bad thing, and my wife's success proves you don't need the extra bells and whistles, but hey, I'm a gadget geek. The jury is still out as far as success goes for me. I've only had it 2 weeks. One of my goals with it is to accurately determine my TDEE and I expect it will take at least 6 wks and possibly longer.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    I first bought a Surge but then returned it and got the Charge HR. The Surge was just too big.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    I have the ChargeHR and let it charge everyday while I'm in the shower. I have to take it off anyway.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    I have the ChargeHR and let it charge everyday while I'm in the shower. I have to take it off anyway.

    I agree...That's exactly how I do it. I'm not sure why everone seems to have trouble keeping it charged. I simply charge mine for the 20 minutes a day that I shower and get ready for work and it keeps it chaged.
  • christina135
    christina135 Posts: 8 Member
    I LOVE my ChargeHR. I charge it maybe once a week, and it holds the charge very well. I love that it interacts with myfitnesspal, as well as tracks my sleep. That's a big one for me. I did purchase the surge, and promptly returned it. It felt like having a VCR strapped to my wrist.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    I have the ChargeHR and let it charge everyday while I'm in the shower. I have to take it off anyway.

    I agree...That's exactly how I do it. I'm not sure why everone seems to have trouble keeping it charged. I simply charge mine for the 20 minutes a day that I shower and get ready for work and it keeps it chaged.
    Maybe it's the nearly 200K steps a week and sub-10 minute showers.
  • twistedwoman
    twistedwoman Posts: 47 Member
    Thanks for all the responses!
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    I have the ChargeHR and let it charge everyday while I'm in the shower. I have to take it off anyway.

    I agree...That's exactly how I do it. I'm not sure why everone seems to have trouble keeping it charged. I simply charge mine for the 20 minutes a day that I shower and get ready for work and it keeps it chaged.
    Maybe it's the nearly 200K steps a week and sub-10 minute showers.

    That's exactly what I was going to say. I don't know how active other people are, but I get over 15,000 steps per day, I workout every day, and my showers are only 5 to 10 minutes depending on whether or not I have to wash my hair.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    I have the ChargeHR and let it charge everyday while I'm in the shower. I have to take it off anyway.

    I agree...That's exactly how I do it. I'm not sure why everone seems to have trouble keeping it charged. I simply charge mine for the 20 minutes a day that I shower and get ready for work and it keeps it chaged.
    Maybe it's the nearly 200K steps a week and sub-10 minute showers.

    That's exactly what I was going to say. I don't know how active other people are, but I get over 15,000 steps per day, I workout every day, and my showers are only 5 to 10 minutes depending on whether or not I have to wash my hair.
    My Fitbit charges to 75% full at most, medium at the moment. The last time it fully charged was when I had issues with my old charger and left it in the wall.

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